About Rod D. Martin
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by Patrick Cox
May 5, 2017
In 2011, scientists made one of the most important discoveries in the history of AI development. They found that graphics processing units (GPUs) are far better at simulating biological learning than central processing units (CPUs).
In retrospect, it seems obvious. Human brains are much more like GPUs than CPUs. Both brains and GPUs rely on parallel processing that simulates and predicts real world physics.
In light of this, AI developers created powerful deep neural networks (DNNs) that emulate human brain function. All the major advances in self-driving cars and language translation are the result of this.
Below is a chart from Nvidia. It shows the explosive progress of AI running the Caffe deep learning platform:
In the meantime, pharma is tapping into this breakthrough to cure the diseases of aging and cut healthcare costs.
Deep Learning and Aging
One company that took on aging is InSilico Medicine. It uses DNNs to sort through huge amounts of biological data. The DNNs look for biomarkers (measurable indicators of your biological state such as those included in blood tests) that correlate with aging. For humans, this would be an impossibly complicated and time-consuming task.
InSilico has developed a program that will guess your age within a few years based on a standard blood test. Why should you care?
The reason is that biomarkers indicating old age can be altered. We can identify compounds that can make your biomarkers—and you—younger and healthier. A few of these compounds are already known. But scientists lacked the technology to identify the most powerful ones… until now.
Today, there is a race to find the most effective and safest geroprotectors. These are compounds that can restore you and your biomarkers to a more youthful profile.
One player in this field is the Life Extension Foundation (LEF). It’s on a mission to find safe and effective natural geroprotectors without regulatory delays and costs.
Last week, InSilico Medicine announced a product called Ageless Cell. It was developed in collaboration with LEF’s head of R&D Andrew Swick, PhD, former Director of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases at Pfizer Global Research and Development. The supplement contains four natural compounds that DNNs have shown can rejuvenate older cells.
LEF has access to blood tests from its customers that take the product. That means data should be available in less than a year. If it works, we can expect other DNN-developed geroprotectors.
Investment Implications
Many biotech companies, including startups, are using AI. That means investors can bet on this trend without exposure to the volatility of biotech startups.
Nvidia (NVDA) is the obvious way to play the growth of DNN applications. The company may have been overvalued at one point, but several negative reports drove its price back to bargain levels.
One indication of the potential of this company comes from Insilico Medicine’s CEO. He told me that the company ran calculations for the LEF supplement on a 40 Tflop 4xNvidia Titan X (Pascal architecture) supercomputer. Since then, Insilico built another GPU cluster using 16xTitan X (Pascal), delivering 160 Tflops in GPU computing power.
Despite a collaborative relationship with Nvidia, Insilico couldn’t get all the Nvidia GPUs it needed for the project due to high demand for the processors. This points to strong growth potential in this market.
While Nvidia pioneered dedicated GPUs for AI, chip giant Intel (INTC) is catching up. Last year, Intel bought AI startup Nervana and integrated its deep learning architecture into Xeon microprocessors. Intel also benefits from an arrangement with Google to advance AI in multicloud environments.
One tech giant that doesn’t seem to be riding this wave is IBM. Big Blue made a big mistake by underestimating the market for AI computer components. Instead, IBM invested in its own cognitive system called Watson. IBM may expand its AI product line, but we’ll have to see if the shift comes in time to compete with Nvidia and Intel.
In any case, advanced AI is not just a marginal improvement in analytical tools. It’s the only technology capable of exploiting the massive knowledge gained from human genome sequencing.
— Here’s How Pharma Is Using AI Deep Learning to Cure Aging originally appeared at Tech Digest.
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
Rod Martin literally wrote the book on excellence. Humble yet brilliant, a man of love and compassion, with penetrating clarity he illuminates the world around us, and we are both stirred and enlightened.
Rod Martin is a born leader and an outstanding political mind. Anyone who takes him on is going to have a serious fight on their hands.
Rod Martin is a man of uncommon vision and character. Ever since I first worked alongside Rod in the early days of PayPal, I’ve been struck by his powerful vision for the future. Rod understands the intersection of technology, politics and culture in a way that few others do.
Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
Rod Martin is a modern day philosopher-statesman. He is a capitalist intellectual, a conservative iconoclast, a gentle adversary and a kind prophet. He inspires us towards a fresh national vision built upon the original founding principles.
Rod Martin is not only effective and efficient, but he is also perceptive, wise and gracious. He gets things done. He is a great friend and a great ally.
Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
Rod Martin is a cornucopian entrepreneur and eutropic thinker whose influence radiates through an array of companies, institutions, movements and churches. A renaissance American, he is also a prolific friend of freedom and faith around the globe.
If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.
The future of technology is the future of America. Rod Martin sees that future clearly, and also sees how to shape it for the betterment of all. He is firmly rooted in the traditions of faith and patriotism that have made America great. That’s why he has made, and will make, so many outstanding contributions in so many areas.
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